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Apple announces major updates to iPod family, cuts iPhone price

By Charles Starrett ● Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Apple today announced major updates to the iPod family at its “The Beat Goes On” special event in San Francisco. The iPod shuffle saw a refresh with new colors and packaging, an all-new iPod nano was introduced, as well as the iPod classic (which replaces the original “iPod” in the company’s lineup), and the all-new iPod touch.

iPod shuffle: The new iPod shuffle is available in several new colors, including a (PRODUCT) RED model, light green, light blue, and light purple. The smallest iPod also received updated, smaller packaging, while storage capacity remains at 1GB for the same price of $79. It will be available soon.

iPod nano: The all-new iPod nano is the same product shown in earlier spy shots, with a 2-inch, 204 pixel per inch, 320x240 resolution screen for video and photo viewing. The all-new design is made from anodized aluminum and polished stainless steel, and is available in five colors: silver, black, blue, green, and a (PRODUCT) RED special edition. It offers 24 hours of audio playback or five hours of video playback on a single charge, and includes three bundled games: Vortex, iQuiz, and Klondike. The new iPod nano also receives an enhanced iPod interface with Cover Flow. It will be available in two storage capacities — a silver-only 4GB model for $149, and an 8GB model available in all five colors for $199. “We’ve taken the most popular music player in the world and added stunning video playback just in time for the holiday season,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “The iPod nano just keeps getting better and better with each new generation.” It is available immediately.

iPod classic: Replacing the fifth-generation iPod in the company’s lineup, Apple’s new iPod classic features a new, thinner, all-metal anodized aluminum and polished stainless steel enclosure, the same enhanced iPod interface as the new iPod nano, including Cover Flow, and increased capacity and battery life. “The first iPod put 1,000 songs in your pocket-this new iPod classic can put 40,000 songs in your pocket,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “With a thinner, all-metal enclosure and an enhanced user interface, the iPod classic is ideal for people who want to hold everything on their iPod.”

In addition, the iPod classic also comes bundled with three games: Vortex, iQuiz, and Klondike. The new 80GB iPod classic is thinner than the fifth-generation 30GB model, and offers 30 hours of music playback and five hours of video playback. It sells for $249. The 160GB iPod classic offers storage for up to 40,000 songs, up to 40 hours of music playback and seven hours of video playback from a single charge, and sells for $349. Both models are available immediately, in both silver and black.

iPod touch: Building on the momentum of the iPhone’s iPod interface, the iPod touch features the same touch screen multi-touch interface found on the iPhone, as well as integrated Wi-Fi, the Safari web browser, a 3.5-inch widescreen display, and a 8mm thin enclosure. The iPod touch offers up to 22 hours of audio playback, up to five hours of video playback, and will be available in both 8GB and 16GB capacities later this month. The 8GB iPod touch is priced at $299, while the 16GB model will sell for $399.

iPhone: Apple also dropped the price of the 8GB iPhone to $399. “The surveys are in and iPhone customer satisfaction scores are higher than we’ve ever seen for any Apple product,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We’ve clearly got a breakthrough product and we want to make it affordable for even more customers as we enter this holiday season.” Apple’s official announcement states that “The iPhone 4GB model will be sold while supplies last,” but does not give any pricing details. Update: Several iLounge readers have reported that Apple is offering the 4GB iPhone model for $299 “While supplies last.”